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Titania Reading Order: The life and crimes of Mary MacPherran

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Steve Rogers is not the only Marvel character to have started as a short and scrawny kid dreaming of getting big and strong and getting what they dreamed of. In the case of Mary MacPherran, the transformation didn’t come thanks to a Super-Soldier experiment, but from Doctor Doom! No surprise she became a villain named Titania.

Created by then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, and named after a Marvel staffer, MacPherran is the second character called Titania (the original was Davida DeVito, who is now called Lascivious) . She first appeared in Secret Wars #3 (1984) when she was accidentally transported into the Beyonder’s Battleworld while at a party. Things quickly became dangerous, and while fleeing with her only friend, Marsha Rosenberg, they met Doom, who offered them superhuman powers (from highly advanced alien technology) if they joined his army. They accepted and became Titania and Volcana.

Gaining immense strength, durability, stamina, and a personality change (becoming very proud and confident), Titania soon faces the superhero She-Hulk. It’s the beginning of their rivalry. She also meets Carl Creel, the Absorbing Man, and becomes close with him. When they return to Earth, the duo joins Baron Zemo’s Masters of Evil, officially launching Titania’s supervillain career. Through the decades, she fought She-Hulk, but also the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor, and other Marvel heroes. She eventually married the Absorbing Man, considered reforming, and became more than a strong antagonist.

In this Titania reading order, we are following Mary MacPherran’s major appearances and character development throughout the Marvel continuity. It begins with her transformation during Secret Wars, then traces her subsequent appearances through her various alliances, rivalries, attempts at reform, and fights against She-Hulk! 

Titania Comics in Order

For Mary MacPherran, the story began in Secret Wars #3. It is an iconic issue as it contains the first appearances of Julia Carpenter as Spider-Woman, but also of Mary’s friend Marsha Rosenberg, who will transform alongside her and become known as Volcana. For context, it’s better to read the full story, as Mary/Titania appears in most, but not all, of the issues.

If you are not familiar with Secret Wars, it’s an important event in Marvel Comics history, and you can read about it in our article Marvel’s Secret Wars Explained: The Events That Changed Comics.

Solo Avengers #14

Next, Titania returned in other events, but only in a limited capacity. After a short appearance next to her partner, Carl Creel, the Absorbing Man, in Avengers #270, which establishes her working against the Avengers, the duo is revealed to be part of the all-new Masters of Evil, Baron Zemo’s criminal team during the “Under Siege” crossover. They appeared in Avengers #273, Amazing Spider-Man #283, and Avengers #275, partly collected in:

During the Armor Wars crossover,  Titania, who was taken to the superhuman penitentiary known as The Vault, uses the opportunity to try to get her freedom back. This is in Captain America #340, collected in: 

This opens the way for a short story about a rematch against She-Hulk in Solo Avengers #14. But Titania found a bigger part to play as a member of the new Frightful Four, with the Wizard, Klaw, and Hydro-Man, in Fantastic Four #326-333, collected in: 

One of the defining characteristics of Titania at the time is that she could not stay behind bars at The Vault. Once again, she escaped! This time, it was to join Loki’s Acts of Vengeance plan. Her role in the event is limited, though, as she appeared in the first short story in Avengers Spotlight #26, Web of Spider-Man #59, and the second short story in Avengers Spotlight #29. The important issue is the Spider-Man one, as she has to fight Spidey, despite her fears. 

Next, Titania appears in Captain America #389-391, as part of “The Superia Stratagem” storyline, collected in Captain America Epic Collection: The Superia Stratagem. But this didn’t work out well for Mary, who decides to reconnect with Creel in Thor #436.

It’s time for another rematch against She-Hulk in Sensational She-Hulk #49. But Creel wanted to live a straight life, and he had to ask Thor’s help to put Titania in line in Thor #447-448. This was a complicated affair and, after a passage at an AIM expo in Captain America #413, an accidental rematch with She-Hulk in Sensational She-Hulk #52, and an ill-advised team-up in Incredible Hulk Annual #19, things took a turn.

In Thunderstrike #16, Creel and Thunderstrike worked out a way to have Titania and She-Hulk make peace, but as usual, things went down the fighting path. Nevertheless, events turned out well for the Absorbing Man and Titania, whose marriage took place in Avengers Unplugged #4. Sure, the ceremony was chaotic, but love won in the end! 

  • Thunderstrike #16 and Avengers Unplugged #4 are important comics for Titania’s story, but they have not been collected yet!
  • However, there’s a short story featuring the couple in Marvel Valentine Special #1, available in digital format.
She-Hulk (2004) #11

Starting a married life did not mark the end of Mary and Creed’s criminal career. However, they went by new identities, Thundergirl and Lightning Bolt, in Amazing Spider-Man #429, in which they go after Spider-Man to collect a reward offered by Norman Osborn. This was before more fights against She-Hulk in Heroes for Hire (1997) #17 and Fantastic Four (1998) #22. They even went against Thor and Iron Man in Thor (1998) #14, but this was anecdotal, especially compared to what came next between the God of Thunder and the couple.

In Thor #26-27, Titania discovers she’s dying of cancer, but without any health insurance, she can’t stay in a hospital. This would incite the Absorbing Man to make harsh decisions. He will later, in Thor #55, repent for it and even pledge his loyalty to the Lord of Asgard.

Soon after, Titania had a little spat with her husband and took her distance, ending up in one of the silly adventures of Deadpool during a little crossover in Deadpool (1996) #44/Black Panther (1998) #23. Then, she disappeared for a while, but resurfaced when her obsession with She-Hulk came back with a power boost in She-Hulk (2004) #10-12, a story in which she has to face the destructive nature of that obsession before paying once again the price for it. 

During The Initiative (post-Civil War), in Fantastic Four #547-549, Titania rejoined the Frightful Four for a fight against the Fantastic Four. Then got herself in more legal trouble and helped her husband with some She-Hulk business in She-Hulk (2005) #21-23.

During Fear Itself, Titania was transformed by one of the seven hammers of the Serpent, becoming Skirn: Breaker of Men, and looked for another one for the Absorbing Man, who ultimately became known as Greithoth. Together, they attacked the Avengers Academy and battled heroes until they lost their hammers. That’s how Titania is sent to jail, to the Raft, once again.

After this event, Titania made a few cameos, but also joined some fights against heroes, like in Fearless Defenders #10 & #12 and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6. Most notably, she found her way back to She-Hulk in She-Hulk (2014) #10-12. With the Absorbing Man, they fought the new female Thor in Thor (2015) #5

Illuminati #1

In 2016, Titania tried something new: she decided to put an end to her criminal career. This was part of the 2016 Illuminati series in which, after being released from prison on parole and getting help from She-Hulk to get a job, things turned bad quickly for Mary, who ended up being recruited by the Hood, who convinced her to immediately go back to her life of crime. 

Doing good doesn’t pay, so Titania went back to do bad. First with the Wizard, but she ends up fighting Howard the Duck (it’s not really a fight, tbh) in Howard the Duck (2016) #1, then in Deadpool & the Mercs For Money #2, she makes a cameo, informing us she went back to working with the Doom Maidens (see Fearless Defenders), something that lead to two more appearances in the series, in issues #4 & 5.

After that, we reconnect with Titania when she learns that her husband is dead, in Black Bolt #9. She joined with the Midnight King to face his enemies. Also, Carl makes a comeback.

In another recurring part for Titania, she appeared in Weapon H #8-12, in which Weapon H recruits her with Man-Thing, a Brood-human hybrid named Blake, Hulk’s old friend Korg, and a mysterious Roxxon fighter named Angel for a trip to Weirdworld.

Invited into Gamma Flight, Creel asked for his wife to join them too. That’s how Titania and the Absorbing Man became recurring figures in Immortal Hulk, then jumped with the rest of the team into the Gamma Flight miniseries. 

Inevitably, Titania had to go back to fighting the other gamma-loaded hero known as She-Hulk in She-Hulk (2022) #1, but this time, Jennifer offers Mary that, because they like fighting each other, they may do that in a more organised way to avoid inconveniencing them or anyone else. So, in issue #4, they launch their “fight club,” and Volcana and Ben Grimm join them. The “Punch Club” met again in issues #11 and briefly at the beginning of #15, and in Sensational She-Hulk (2023) #9. Those fights are usually short and mostly show that Titania was still free. It also appears that they probably continue, as Ben Grimm invited Mary and Marsha to a party in Spider-Man: Holiday Spectacular #1.

She-Hulk (2022) #4

Titania and the Absorbing Man returned to the Battleworld (appearing only in the first two issues) in the recent series that brought heroes from across the Multiverse together for a new kind of Secret Wars… But maybe this is not Titania from the regular Marvel Universe! Titania and Creel very briefly fought Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man (2025) #28 before taking a vacation, but they had a violent and accidental meeting with Wolverine and Nightcrawler in Wolverine (2024) #21.

And that’s it for now… Titania and the Absorbing Man will certainly come back for more fights!

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